Ben and Carys held their wedding in the lovely Rosemarket in Pembrokeshire where Carys' family live. Her parents home was so close to the church and the weather was lovely so the bridal party all walked on down to the church. (always a winning plan and makes great photos, love that moment very much, when and where it is possible!). They were married at Rosemarket church with their reception at the lovely Woodhouse Barn. It was such a pleasure to shoot at Woodhouse Barn as it was a new venue to us and is just down the road. Its a truly lovely venue too, with lots of space, light and chance to make the space your own.
Ben and Carys are truly the best of friends and it was so lovely to see that in all they did on their wedding day they were respectful to each others ideas. They are also family and friend people, who have huge love and respect for their tribe. It was such a pleasure to be included in this aspect of the day and made to feel really appreciated, even down to getting a very kind mention in her Dads speech!
Carys has one of the best laughs we have ever heard, so capturing her giggling was important to us, we wanted our photos to reflect the joy that Ben and Carys share together. Where Ben is more calm, displaying such love and appreciation. These guys are such a perfect combination. It was true honour to capture their day and to share every aspect with them and their family and friends.
Ben and Carys kindly shared some things about their day with us. Once youve had a look through this selection of photos please read what they wrote too, We feel it important to share the views of our couples and how they decided on and "designed" their wedding day. (Thank you so much for taking time to do this for us. x o&c)
Here is a little bit about the lovely Ben and Carys and how they got their wed on...
"We me it March 2015 and very quickly knew that our relationship was something special. In October half term of 2016, Ben took me to the Foxhill Manor in the Cotswolds as a surprise. It's an amazing hotel, with only eight rooms and you're made to feel like royalty there. We went for a walk to Broadway Tower, where Ben produced an old fashioned striped sweet bag from his pocket. Of course, I never say no to sweets, but on accepting the bag, there were no sweets, but instead a diamond ring. He went down his his knee and asked me to marry him.
We started planning th wedding fairly shortly and knew pretty immediately that we would marry at Rosemarket Church with a reception at the Woodhouse Barn to follow.
My grandfather lived in Rosemarket all of his life, with my grandmother moving to live with him here when they married. My father was born in Rosemarket and returned to live here in 2005. My sister, Helen and I spent many a weekend here with grandparents and so this little village means a lot to me. My sister and her husband, Tim had their reception at the barn too and I couldn't think of anywhere else I'd like to spend ours. It was everything we'd want and more.
My sister, Helen and I went to Sentiments Bridal in Talbot Green in December 2016 and I bought the second dress I put on. Thankfully, Helen is brilliant at these things and I trust her entirely. She was adamant that the dress was "the one" and so I bought it.
We won't go there with Ben's suit and especially the ties - there was a point I thought he'd be marrying me in his walking trousers and trainers!
The main thing we wanted for the decor and styling was vintage, low key and natural. I made the vast majority of decorations myself. I love up cycling pallets and a great friend of mind from work made the seating plan and welcome sign from old pallets.
I ADORE succulents and so they featured heavily in the theme. I went to Deborah Wilcox flowers in Pembroke and knew as soon as I met her that she was the florist for me. She was honest and could see my vision, giving useful suggestions. The wedding favours were all succulents with little chalk hearts to show the names of people.
Our ceremony was small and personal. We spent a lot of time looking for readings that meant the most to us. Ben's sister, Alex read Song of Solomon from the bible and our best friend Nick read The Art of Marriage. Both read beautifully and did us proud. Another of our best friends, Jonny sang for us, accompanied by Sarah-Jayne Absolom on the harp. He sang both Songbird and Everything whilst we signed the register. He was outstanding - a real tear jerker. The harp was a real final touch for us - as a Welsh teacher and proud Welsh woman, it really made the service for me.
I saw O&C in action and a friend's wedding and as soon as Ben proposed, I showed him their portfolio. He was as taken as I was and we got in touch as soon as we had a date set. We didn't want to spend all day posing and for family to be waiting around. We wanted a real account of the day that showed the moments. And oh my did they deliver. When we received the full set of photographs, we could see every single moment documented.
Working with O&C was a dream. There was nothing that they wouldn't do (you know what we mean, guys). Fixing button holes, tying Windsor knots, being all round great people and guests. They were in the right place at all of the right times and managed to make us feel relaxed in their presence.
We would 100% recommend to anyone.
Our first song was 'At Last' by Eta James as we wanted something authentic and a real classic. The words speak for themselves, really.
"At last my love has come along
My lonely days are over and life is like a song
At last the skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped in clover the night I looked at you
I found a dream that I can speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to press my cheek to
A thrill I've never known
You smiled and then the spell was cast
And here we are in Heaven
For you are mine at last"
My favourite part of the day was the speeches. I thought my dad, Ben and Ian were all the perfect mix of emotion and laughter. I was so proud of all of them. Nick was also splendid in his duty as compère.
Ben's favourite part was the church as he felt that it was the most romantic part of the day.
WORDS OF WISDOM: To have a relaxed and calm day, it needs to be well organised beforehand. The flip flops went down well for the ladies as did the blankets to take the chill off.
Don't sweat the small things as nobody else notices them on the day.
Oh, and use o&c Photography, of course.!"
- If you would like to chat about your wedding day and are getting married at Woodhouse Barn or any other UK wedding venue, please do drop us a line here, we would love to chat more x o&c